Daily crypto news alerts for 17th December, 2020.

🗞Bitcoin breaks historic $20,000 mark

On Wednesday, December 16, the price of the first cryptocurrency broke the $20,000 mark for the first time in history.

On the Bitstamp exchange, quotes at the moment increased to $20,440, and after a short time they reached $20,800.

Exactly a week ago, the price of bitcoin dropped to a December low of $18,000. By the end of the week, quotations returned to levels above $19,000, followed by a new historic milestone.

Over the past day, the price of the first cryptocurrency has grown by 5%, the weekly gain was more than 10%.

Bitcoin's market cap at the time of writing was $376.9 billion with a 63.3% dominance over the rest of the market.

Altcoins are also showing growth. The price of the second largest cryptocurrency Ethereum by capitalization reached $628 at the moment. This was facilitated by the news that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will launch Ethereum futures trading in February 2021.

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🗞Malta finance minister: "banks are skeptical about cryptocurrency firms"

The Maltese finance minister said the Maltese government's plan to once again become a "blockchain island" has stalled due to the reluctance of local retail banks to work with cryptocurrency firms.

According to Malta Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, traditional banks have long written off firms in the blockchain and digital currencies industry, and few startups have worked with them. Caruana also highlighted the need to invest in resource development and training to ensure the industry thrives.

However, it will be much more difficult to implement this initiative without the participation of banks, since banks are ready to interact only with firms operating in traditional industries. Caruana believes that retail banking skepticism is hampering not only blockchain development, but also other emerging industries in the country. The minister gave an example of a plan for the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

“There is always a chance to become a 'blockchain hub'. But if we want this to really happen, we need to work harder. It's not just the newness of the industries, but also the demand. If investors do not find what they are interested in, they will think twice before investing money there. In order to continue to attract investment in Malta, we must train skilled professionals who can develop useful blockchain solutions, ”said Caruana.

Earlier, the chairman of the research center for the digital economy, Kearon Bruno, said that Malta is no longer a "blockchain island." This is due to the fact that after the resignation of former Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat, the state has focused on the development of financial rather than digital technologies.

Bruno urged the government not to focus on distributed ledger technology, but to take an integrated approach to the development of the digital economy as a whole. Note that already last year, Maltese cryptocurrency companies began to face difficulties when opening accounts in banking institutions.

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🗞The digital evolution of the financial sector and why DeFi is the future

The existing financial system has a lot to offer, but not everyone has access to it and sometimes its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. The DeFi industry is gaining more and more popularity.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) opens up access to financial services for people around the world. DeFi mitigates the risks of losing hard-earned money due to financial institutions' risk-taking, error, and fraud. In addition, people can avoid the problems that come with the centralization of such organizations.

What is DeFi

The DeFi industry seeks to provide alternatives to many traditional financial products and services: trading, lending, investment opportunities, eliminating their shortcomings and making the system available to everyone.

DeFi is creating an infrastructure for cryptoassets that can be used and generated income, instead of just sitting in users' wallets. The main feature of DeFi projects is to rethink the basic mechanisms of financial decisions and increase their efficiency through decentralization and advanced technologies. Here is some of them:

1) Optimization of risks and benefits through decentralization and automation In DeFi, users have complete control and transparent information about their assets. This means that money cannot be invested in risky initiatives without the owner's knowledge. Money cannot be blocked by a decision of a centralized organization or government. Users receive transparent data on financial products on the blockchain and make the best decisions on how to use their money themselves.

2) Numerous ways to make profit and use cryptocurrency DeFi offers tons of opportunities to profit from cryptoassets without having to sell them. At the same time, to access such services, you do not need to comply with strict requirements, as in the traditional finance industry. Therefore, 1.7 billion people around the world without access to banking services can use DeFi products.

3) The ability to become shareholders, not passive users of the DAO Many DeFi projects are launching DAOs, blockchain-based decentralized autonomous organizations that give users the ability to become shareholders of sorts and vote on how DeFi protocols will operate and evolve, and generate income from these platforms.

DeFi offers users more freedom to participate in interesting projects on their chosen terms and in a decentralized manner, with no hidden risks and intermediary fees.

Why people are slow to switch to DeFi

While DeFi remains a new concept. The industry will need to better adapt to customer needs and address several issues on the path to maturity:

1) Few DeFi projects offer users realistic revenue models Many projects offer to make money out of thin air, for example, using game theory. The user invests money and receives more money without understanding how the amount increased. These revenue models may not be sustainable over the long term and they scare off many users.

2) DeFi lacks holistic, user-friendly ecosystems While one bank may offer a package of solutions for working with money and multiplying it in different ways, such offers in DeFi are not yet so common. Users have to switch between different platforms and pay double commissions, spend time researching services and registering, and also bear the risks associated with leaving confidential information at multiple sites.

3) Only a few Defi projects have been fully audited and operate in accordance with the law Since all financial products in DeFi are based on smart contracts that automatically execute transactions, it is worth making sure they are working correctly. In addition, users want to be sure that the DeFi project is operating in accordance with the law and that no one will harass the development team, and customers will not leave the platform overnight, leading to its collapse.

Nimbus is the new DeFi ecosystem

Nimbus is a fintech company with a reputable team and years of experience providing blockchain-based financial solutions to 50,000 users. In the coming days, the company is launching a new DeFi ecosystem that could well be the industry's foremost solution for years to come. Nimbus combines the best practices of both traditional and decentralized finance to comprehensively address the key concerns of DeFi users.

Nimbus launches the DeFi ecosystem, which offers ten earning strategies based on real-world use cases, from P2P loans to IPOs and crowdfunding. On December 21, Nimbus launches an ecosystem of four decentralized applications and three tokens managed by the DAO, giving users the ability to maximize the value of the project.

Nimbus lacks implausible reward generation models that are untrustworthy and not well understood. Every Nimbus decentralized app has a clear revenue generation process. Most decentralized applications are tied to traditional financial instruments and products that have been proven effective for decades. With Nimbus, these products will be available for the first time to the cryptocurrency industry, and their risks will be mitigated by DeFi mechanisms.

When fully launched, the Nimbus ecosystem will consist of four decentralized applications. The two most promising ones are:

1) Nimbus IPO hub dApp Through a decentralized application, users with any number of cryptoassets will be able to participate in the IPO through liquidity pools. The IPOs will be scrutinized and Nimbus DAO members will vote for them. All relevant IPO analytics will be collected in one place so that users can make their own decisions. Users will need to select the amount of cryptoasset they want to invest in the IPO and start earning their percentage. There are no additional brokerage fees and additional registration requirements.

2) Nimbus Crowdfunding dApp A unique decentralized tool that will allow anyone who owns a cryptocurrency to participate in funding startups in accordance with legal requirements. Users around the world will have access to convertible loans and start-up capital, regardless of the amount they have. Thanks to the liquidity pool mechanics, the risks and rewards from such crowdfunding participation will be optimized. Since the money will be distributed among startups automatically under certain conditions, the risk of startup failures is also reduced.

Nimbus will also launch two more decentralized applications. Crypto Arbitrage-Trading dApp, which has a centralized version already used by 50,000 people, and P2P Lending dApp, which provides more flexibility and more risk management options for users than many other lending dApps.

All decentralized applications will be hosted in one ecosystem and will use a single NUS token, which provides access to all of them. In 2020-2021, Nimbus users will have access to ten pools and products with different earning strategies in one place through the NUS token, which will be launched in December 2020.

Nimbus plans to obtain a broker-dealer license from the US Financial Institutions Regulatory Agency (FINRA), a license from the US National Futures Association (NFA) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With their help, Nimbus will be able to provide users with access to additional asset classes and investment products. For example, to equity participation in the secondary markets before the IPO, to which no ordinary person has access today.

However, the use of decentralized applications is not the only opportunity for users to participate in the Nimbus ecosystem. To provide true user control over the Nimbus platform and additional revenue opportunities, Nimbus is launching the Nimbus DAO and GNUS governance token.

With the GNUS token, any user will be able to participate in decision-making on the operation of the Nimbus platform and receive a share of its income. Only 10% of the governance tokens will remain with the Nimbus Organization, allowing for true decentralized governance.

Nimbus features

Nimbus has been around for a year and already serves 50,000 users. The international project team consists of renowned professionals with an excellent reputation, including former top managers of the largest modern international corporations, for example, Huawei. Together, they cover all areas of expertise needed to successfully launch a project, including cryptocurrency, blockchain, DeFi, artificial intelligence, finance, and cybersecurity.

The company is also awaiting audits from leading smart contract auditing firms such as Zokyo, agreements with liquidity providers, and a crowdfunding license in the EU.

Launching the DeFi ecosystem for Nimbus is not a way to capitalize on the popularity of the industry or quickly reap benefits for its employees. This is the way to accomplish Nimbus's mission in the most efficient way and the project team maintains high standards of work.

The Nimbus DeFi ecosystem will launch in December 2020, and anyone can participate in its work. Nimbus is now finalizing development and auditing of DeFi functionality and preparing for a launch scheduled for December 21st.

At launch, one of the three Nimbus tokens, NUS, will appear on the Uniswap listing. This token will be required to access any other features of the platform, be it two other tokens or four decentralized applications, which will launch in December 2020 or 2021.

50,000 Nimbus users await the launch of the DeFi ecosystem, which anyone can join to benefit and take advantage of an emerging and promising decentralized finance project.

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🗞Pantera Capital CEO: Ethereum and XRP Will Overtake Bitcoin

Dan Morehead, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund Pantera Capital, reiterated his optimistic outlook on Bitcoin in the coming months during the Real Vision Finance podcast, noting the brighter prospects for Ethereum and XRP.

In an interview, he predicted that over time, the number of cryptocurrency networks used will be limited to a single value.

“We invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP ... Now I really think other cryptocurrencies will outperform digital gold. We are in the active phase of a bull market, so the smaller the capitalization, the higher the beta. Bitcoin now forms 62% of the cryptocurrency market capitalization. Two years ago, at its peak, the figure reached 70%. I believe that its dominance will drift downward as it grows as altcoins will outpace it, ”commented Morehead.

The head of Pantera Capital explained the preference for Ethereum by launching the zero phase of the second version of the protocol, which will ultimately increase the efficiency of the network. He is attracted to XRP by "accumulating potential for cross-border movement of funds." He added that Ripple's solutions account for 10% of the $25 billion US-Mexico payment corridor.

Recall that in August, Dan Morehead confirmed his forecast of Bitcoin reaching the $100,000 mark within two years.

On the night of December 17, the bitcoin price updated its all-time high above $22,000.

According to the company's July report, the Pantera Bitcoin Fund has returned over 15,000% over seven years.